Congress, BJP trade barbs over money laundering case

Priyank Kharge, the Congress legislator from Chittapur in Kalaburagi and former information technology minister, said chief minister Basavaraj Bommai brushed off allegations on the scandal calling it a ”non-issue” but then what was the need to brief the prime minister of the same.

The Congress on Friday continued its attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leadership in the state over the alleged scandal of laundering money through crypto currencies.

The statements come when the Congress have been relentlessly trying to corner Bommai and other senior BJP leaders in the alleged Bitcoin scam, reportedly involving thousands of crores. (Bloomberg)

Priyank Kharge, the Congress legislator from Chittapur in Kalaburagi and former information technology minister, said chief minister Basavaraj Bommai brushed off allegations on the scandal calling it a ”non-issue” but then what was the need to brief the prime minister of the same. “If this (Bitcoin scandal) was a non-issue, what was the need to talk to the prime minister about it,” Kharge said.

The legislator said the way in which the chief minister was talking on the issue appeared as though he was inviting others to “settle” the scam rather than uncover it. “This investigation is being done not to unravel the truth but to bury it. Because this is a big scandal. Maybe the first in the country involving bitcoin, cryptocurrencies,” Kharge said.

The statements come when the Congress have been relentlessly trying to corner Bommai and other senior BJP leaders in the alleged scam, reportedly involving thousands of crores.

While facts of the case continue to unravel in front of cameras, Kharge also placed before the media documents pertaining to the submissions made by Srikrishna or Sriki, a hacker, who is at the heart of the alleged scandal.

He is currently out on bail and has feigned innocence in the entire episode.

State Congress president DK Shivakumar said Bommai has been trying to be evasive during the entire episode.

Referring to Bommai’s statement on Thursday, Shivakumar said the chief minister has conveyed that the prime minister asked him not to worry about the Bitcoin scandal. “Can there be smoke without fire?” Shivakumar said.

Bommai had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in Delhi. He had said Modi asked him not to worry about the alleged scandal even when the latter only tried bringing up the issue.

The BJP is also hitting back at the Congress with their own version of the alleged scandal.

“An investigation is already underway in the bitcoin issue. I have clarified all actions being taken by the government in this regard. But Congress leaders are unnecessarily creating a controversy. I have already said it (Congress) can present any specific evidence,” the BJP Karnataka unit said in a post on Twitter, attributing the quote to Bommai.